Re: Composition & Improvisation- the fatal moment of playback

[andy butler <akbutler@tiscali.co.uk>]

hmm..
I think it may be that the performer is the least
able person to judge the quality of a performance that they
just completed. Especially if there's improvised content.

I became aware of this when I recorded 2 different versions of
a similar structured improv at 2 different venues during the Y2K5
festival in California.
The version that was exciting at the time seemed weak and
meandering on playback,
whereas the performance that felt like going through the motions
produced a recording which I thought was full of energy 
as well as being compositionally attractive.

...and of course,  I heard Bill Walker express his unfounded
misgivings after every performance I saw ;-)


Then again. a performance isn't just the sound that gets recorded.
(and often, there's sounds that weren't going through the pa that
  don't get onto the recording).
A live performance is perhaps enough of a social ritual that the
music itself is only part of what makes it work.
Sometimes what works well as a live performance needs a bit of
editing to make a listenable recording...sometimes the whole
thing works better as a memory.

a
 



 

Gareth Whittock wrote:
> I'm curious as to what you think when you guys listen back to recordings 
> of your own performances. I've recorded some jams which I thught were 
> quite acceptable while I was playing them, only to fell that they fell 
> well short of expectations whilst just listening.
> 
> g